The Mission House

Last Tuesday we arrived at our missionary training facility outside of Richmond, Virginia. Before that, we spent a month in Oklahoma with family and friends, the first step of our transition to the mission field. And it was a sweet month.

A month is a long time to be house guests, especially when you're a family of seven (with all the stuff that goes along with a family of seven) squeezed into a three-bedroom home with two other people who aren't used to having kids, much less five kids, around all the time. So we wondered whether there would be a way to have our own space for our sojourn. The solution: a mission house.

Mission houses are houses owned by churches for the purpose of providing missionaries with a place to stay during stateside assignments. Not all churches have them, but thankfully we had a connection with one that did: Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, my parents' beloved church. My mom's friend is in charge of the house, so we contacted her and applied. By God's grace, the house was available, so we booked it.

The mission house

We pulled in to Oklahoma City on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Day, we settled into the house, which was lovely. It was completely furnished and decorated, with everything we needed to be comfortable and feel cared for. During our stay in the house, we hosted a birthday party for Tabitha, dinners for our parents and friends, a sleepover for our kids' cousins, and a family gathering so we could see some loved ones whom we don't often get to see. These times of fellowship would not have been possible without the mission house.

Their annual gingerbread house construction, courtesy of  Oma

Tabitha with her OKC bestie at her birthday party

Celebrating Tabitha's fourteenth birthday

I was happy to be able to cook dinner for my mom on her birthday.

While those four weeks were restful in many ways, they were also packed with activity: Christmas of course; meals with friends from high school, college, and Norman; trips to Tulsa, Altus, and Ardmore; preaching, speaking, and leading worship at churches; and finally, the baptisms of Gracie and Ben.

Christmas at Oma and Opa's house

Ben

Tabby

Judah

Gracie

New homemade robes from Oma

Christmas at Gamie and PaPa's house 

Asher with Gamie

Gracie reading the Christmas story

Snow tubing with cousins

Judah was a pro!

Judah

Singing at Gamie and PaPa's church

Visiting Tabby and Ben's former foster family in Altus

Our last day in OKC was an emotional but fulfilling one. Harvey preached at Portland Avenue Baptist Church, the church he grew up in, and he baptized Gracie and Ben. 

Gracie's baptism

Ben's baptism

Last month a new home; now a new state and a new task: mission training for the whole family (more on that to come). These are the first of many transitions coming our way over the next weeks and months. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So we trust him, and all is well.